Rescues accelerate as floodwaters inundate plains

Saturday

Sep 14, 2013 at 2:41 PM

The AP

LYONS, Colo. | The rescue of Coloradoans stranded by epic mountain flooding accelerated Saturday as debris-filled rivers became muddy seas that extended into towns and farms miles from the Rockies. Authorities expected to find more fatalities when full scope of destruction emerged.Helicopters and hundreds of National Guard troops searched the mountainous terrain for people as food and water supplies ran low in remote communities cut off since Thursday. Thousands were being driven to safety in convoys.A woman was missing and presumed dead after witnesses saw floodwaters from the Big Thompson River destroy her home in the Cedar Cove area, Larimer County sheriff's spokesman John Schulz said."We're sure there are going to be additional homes that have been destroyed, but we won't know that for a while," Schulz said. I expect that we're going to continue to receive reports of confirmed missing and confirmed fatalities throughout the next several days."Four people have been confirmed dead since the harrowing floods began Wednesday. The high water has affected an area nearly the size of Connecticut.National Guard helicopters flew in and out of the mountain hamlet of Jamestown late into Friday night after it became isolated by rushing water that scoured the canyon the village sits in. Rescuers on the ground focused on the town of Lyons.By Saturday morning, the Guard had evacuated nearly 800 people by air and ground.More than a dozen helicopters were available to aid with rescue efforts."We have the ability to go whenever, wherever," Master Sgt. Cheresa Theiral said.Still more rain was expected Saturday. And the outlook for anyone who preferred to stay behind was bleak: weeks without power, cellphone service or running water."Essentially, what they were threatening us with is, 'If you stay here, you may be here for a month,"' said 79-year-old Dean Hollenbaugh, who was evacuated by helicopter from Jamestown, northwest of Boulder.For those awaiting an airlift, Guardsmen dropped food, water and other supplies to residents of the winding, narrow canyons that cut through the Rocky Mountain foothills.Although the number of confirmed deaths stood at four, authorities feared more bodies could turn up in areas that remain inaccessible."The thing with this event is, we don't know what we don't know," Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.More than 170 people remained unaccounted for in Boulder County, but that number could include people who are still stranded or who escaped but have not made contact yet, the sheriff said.